Six Lashkar, Hizbul militants involved in killing of army officer identified

Indian Army officer Lt Ummer Fayaz had gone to attend his cousin’s wedding at Batapura from where he was abducted by militants at around 10pm on Tuesday. His bullet-riddled body was found on Wednesday morning.

Six militants from the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen were involved in the abduction and killing of a young army officer in Shopian district of Kashmir and a massive manhunt has been launched to catch them, defence sources said on Thursday.

The bullet-riddled body of 22-year-old Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz from Kashmir was found in Harmen area of Shopian on Wednesday morning, hours after he was abducted by militants from Batpura village.

“We have identified six militants who were involved in the killing of Fayaz. The militants are from Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen,” a source said.

Security forces are carrying out searches in various areas to nab the six militants, the source said.

Fayaz, son of an apple farmer, had gone to attend the wedding of his cousin at Batapura, about 74km from Srinagar, from where he was abducted by the militants around 10pm on Tuesday night.

On his first leave since joining the army, Fayaz was posted with 2 Rajputana Rifles in Akhnoor in Jammu region. His killing has triggered anger among the locals who demanded action against the culprits.

The army had on Wednesday vowed to punish the killers of Fayaz and said the incident marks a watershed moment in Kashmir Valley as people there will decisively turn the tide against terrorism.

Calling the attack a “dastardly act of cowardice” by militants, defence minister Arun Jaitley had said Fayaz’s sacrifice reiterates the nation’s commitment to eliminate terrorism from the valley.